Skip to main content

Light of the World

                 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)

                And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. (2 Corinthians  11:15-16)

                This is one of those “non-magical” passages. Jesus didn’t say that we become lights of the world, but that we are lights. Every one of us. As the second passage above points out, some masquerade as angels of light. Scripture makes that clear, not only in the 2 Corinthians passage, but also in Proverbs 9, in which the wisdom and folly are described in very similar terms until you consider the content of their messages. So, we are all lights of the world.

                Light can be hidden if something like a basket is put over it, as described above, or if that light is snuggled in with other lights. Hiding among the lights as light is what the masquerade is all about. But what Jesus teaches is that even if evil shines in its pretense of goodness, we are not given permission or instruction to cease to shine with true goodness.

                How do we let our lights shine? My first answer is that we do good deeds. Isn’t that obvious? But Jesus said that we are to let our lights shine so that others may see our good deeds. So, do we do our good deeds so that others can see our good deeds? This doesn’t seem to fit with another of Jesus’ teaching that we aren’t to practice our righteousness before others, to be seen by others.

                The keys seem to be our motivation and the response of those who see our light, and can be summed up with the last part of the main verse: that they may see our good deeds and glorify our Father in Heaven. If our goal is for them to glorify God, not us, we are doing what Jesus commanded. If they glorify God, we are doing what Jesus commanded effectively. We can also do things to glorify God that don’t cause others to glorify Him. This is part of what we need to learn. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Gal 6:10)   “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.   By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)           Joshua grinned when he saw Rex standing by the door, studying something on the ground. "Hey, man! Are we ready to do this thing?"          Rex looked up. "Josh, I can't do it. We're still best buds, but I can't stand your fiancée."           I've met "Rex" many times. I've been Rex. Joshua (Jesus) loves the Church. He's not a fool. He knows the Church is far from perfect, but she is His chosen bride. The Rexes of this world, who think themselves His friend, turn away from her. "You don't need the Church to...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ssssssubmmissssssionnn

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ . (Ephesians 5:21)             "Ssssssubmmisssssssionnn." Can't you just hear the serpent hissing this most horrible of words? If you listen to the serpent or the world, submission means groveling, allowing yourself to be abused, denying yourself your own humanity. Nothing could be worse than submission, could it?             Submission has never been a problem for me, as long as things are going the way I want them to. The rest of the time? Well, let's just say that while I don't know how to fight physically, I don't know how to not fight mentally. One of the fights I've been having with myself for years is about submission.             My first breakthrough took place on a trip to a bookstore. As I walked into the store, my thoughts were very clear. 1) I was goi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Shark Fins, Triple Dog Dares, Heroes, Villains and Sidekicks

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)            There's a scene in Jaws in which someone sees a shark fin and starts a panic. As   all the swimmers scramble to shore, boats surround the fin, which falls over to reveal two kids. With several guns pointed at them, one of the kids points at the other. The message is clear: it was his idea. In Christmas Story, there's a scene in which one kid "triple dog dares" another to do something stupid. Since it's a triple dog dare, well, what choice does the boy have? There doesn't seem to be any end to the trouble that peer pressure can cause. ...
Post a Comment
Read more